Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

Flight canceled after pilot curses at passengers
April 7, 2007

(CNN) -- Northwest Airlines canceled a flight with 180 passengers
aboard after the pilot began cursing at passengers while the plane was
being prepared for takeoff in Las Vegas on Friday, airline officials
and witnesses said.

The cancellation disrupted Easter travel plans for many of the
passengers.

From the moment the captain stepped aboard Flight 1190 to Detroit,
first-class passengers reported hearing him use "animated" language
while talking on his cell phone, Federal Aviation Administration
spokesman Ian Gregor told CNN.

"He was having a fit, swearing up a storm," a passenger on the flight
said. "He was saying 'F this' and 'F that.'"

When confronted about it by passengers, the pilot became "obscene" and
began cursing at the customers, she said. "He made a big disturbance."

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and the local FAA flight standards
office were notified, Gregor said. Police arrived on the scene, pulled
the pilot aside and interviewed him.

He was not administered a field sobriety test. Gregor said he did not
know the reasons behind that decision and CNN was unable to
immediately contact the police officers involved.

The FAA officials called Northwest Airlines headquarters and were
instructed by the chief pilot for the company to remove the pilot from
the aircraft. The chief pilot also requested that the pilot be flown
to Detroit for further questioning, Gregor said.

Northwest Airlines then canceled the flight, apologized for the delay
and offered hotel accommodations and penalty-free re-booking on the
next available flight out of Las Vegas, a spokesman for the airline
said.

The airline said "a review of the matter" was being conducted and the
decision to cancel the flight was made "due to reports of
inappropriate language by a crew member."

Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman, said the FAA's flight standards
investigation unit was looking into the incident. According to Fergus,
the FAA has the authority to send a "letter of admonition" to the
pilot or, in the most extreme cases, revoke a pilot's FAA certificate,
which would ground the pilot.

"I had to call and cancel two family dinners and we're stuck here an
extra night," a passenger said. "We've been at the airport for six
hours waiting -- it's chaos. It's Easter weekend...we want to be
home."

* w w w .cnn . com /2007/US/04/07/swearing.pilot/index.html

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

Thank you for flying F_ck Air writes:

> He was not administered a field sobriety test. Gregor said he did not
> know the reasons behind that decision and CNN was unable to
> immediately contact the police officers involved.

Hmm ... that would be the very first step in my book.

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Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight


"Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@gmail . com > wrote in message
news:t5of13hk4akdkg20ts2ne9lvgo71mksi5f@4ax . com ...
> Thank you for flying F_ck Air writes:
>
>> He was not administered a field sobriety test. Gregor said he did not
>> know the reasons behind that decision and CNN was unable to
>> immediately contact the police officers involved.
>
> Hmm ... that would be the very first step in my book.
>

Do you have a program to simulate a sobriety test?

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

X-No-Archive: Yes

On Apr 7, 1:20 pm, Mxsmanic <mxsma...@gmail . com > wrote:
> Thank you for flying F ck Air writes:
>
> > He was not administered a field sobriety test. Gregor said he did not
> > know the reasons behind that decision and CNN was unable to
> > immediately contact the police officers involved.
>
> Hmm ... that would be the very first step in my book.

Not necessarily. Even if he were sober, he is a professional, who is
representing his company. If he can't control himself professionally
in front of customers, there is a problem. There is no guaranty that
he can control his emotions in the cockpit. They did the right thing
by pulling him off the flight.

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

Jim Davis writes:

> Not necessarily. Even if he were sober, he is a professional, who is
> representing his company. If he can't control himself professionally
> in front of customers, there is a problem. There is no guaranty that
> he can control his emotions in the cockpit. They did the right thing
> by pulling him off the flight.

I agree. I just think it was an oversight not to test him for substance
abuse. Either way, though, someone who is that emotional might be potentially
unsuitable as a pilot.

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Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

X-No-Archive: Yes

On Apr 7, 5:11 pm, Mxsmanic <mxsma...@gmail . com > wrote:
> Jim Davis writes:
> > Not necessarily. Even if he were sober, he is a professional, who is
> > representing his company. If he can't control himself professionally
> > in front of customers, there is a problem. There is no guaranty that
> > he can control his emotions in the cockpit. They did the right thing
> > by pulling him off the flight.
>
> I agree. I just think it was an oversight not to test him for substance
> abuse.

I would imagine he's been tested by now.

>Either way, though, someone who is that emotional might be potentially
> unsuitable as a pilot.
>
> --
> Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

Jim Davis writes:

> I would imagine he's been tested by now.

He has to be tested right away, not days later.

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Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

On Apr 7, 6:45 pm, Mxsmanic <mxsma...@gmail . com > wrote:
> Jim Davis writes:
> > I would imagine he's been tested by now.
>
> He has to be tested right away, not days later.

I wonder if they do random "suprise" tests on pilots and crew for
drugs/alcohol.

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight


<balanco01@yahoo . com > wrote in message
news:1176012911.083386.227350@w1g2000hsg.googlegroups . com ...
> On Apr 7, 6:45 pm, Mxsmanic <mxsma...@gmail . com > wrote:
>> Jim Davis writes:
>> > I would imagine he's been tested by now.
>>
>> He has to be tested right away, not days later.
>
> I wonder if they do random "suprise" tests on pilots and crew for
> drugs/alcohol.
>

Yes. Random tests are done at the given bases. You arrive at the end of
your trip (or day) and find a supervisor waiting for you to escort you for
the test.

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

balanco01@yahoo . com writes:

> I wonder if they do random "suprise" tests on pilots and crew for
> drugs/alcohol.

They do, and sometimes pilots are fired when the tests are positive.

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Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

On 2007-04-07 23:15:11 -0700, balanco01@yahoo . com said:

> On Apr 7, 6:45 pm, Mxsmanic <mxsma...@gmail . com > wrote:
>> Jim Davis writes:
>>> I would imagine he's been tested by now.
>>
>> He has to be tested right away, not days later.
>
> I wonder if they do random "suprise" tests on pilots and crew for
> drugs/alcohol.

You bet. I have had to take random tests and I am only a part 135 pilot.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

X-No-Archive: Yes

On Apr 7, 8:45 pm, Mxsmanic <mxsma...@gmail . com > wrote:
> Jim Davis writes:
> > I would imagine he's been tested by now.
>
> He has to be tested right away, not days later.

True, but under these circumstances, I think they may have got the
testing done within the time frame. We may not be informed about it
right away. We'll just have to watch for a follow-up story.

> Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

On Sat, 07 Apr 2007 17:07:00 +0000, Thank you for flying F_ck Air
<thankyou@forflying.f-ck.air> wrote in
<apjf131bsdm6abatrdfsi8j0mh8d6864t7@news>:

>Northwest Airlines then canceled the flight, apologized for the delay
>and offered hotel accommodations

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, sometimes over night. :-(

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

The real issue here isn't the language used by the pilot per se'. The issue
of importance is the pilot's emotional and mental state leading up to a take
off which the language indicated. This is why the FAA got him off the flight
and probably why, after the hearing, he will no longer be employed by
Northwest.
Frankly, its a good thing they discovered this. Whatever it was he was
involved with on that phone, it wasn't consistent with normal flight safety
procedures.
Dudley Henriques

"Thank you for flying F_ck Air" <thankyou@forflying.f-ck.air> wrote in
message news:apjf131bsdm6abatrdfsi8j0mh8d6864t7@news...
> Flight canceled after pilot curses at passengers
> April 7, 2007
>
> (CNN) -- Northwest Airlines canceled a flight with 180 passengers
> aboard after the pilot began cursing at passengers while the plane was
> being prepared for takeoff in Las Vegas on Friday, airline officials
> and witnesses said.
>
> The cancellation disrupted Easter travel plans for many of the
> passengers.
>
> From the moment the captain stepped aboard Flight 1190 to Detroit,
> first-class passengers reported hearing him use "animated" language
> while talking on his cell phone, Federal Aviation Administration
> spokesman Ian Gregor told CNN.
>
> "He was having a fit, swearing up a storm," a passenger on the flight
> said. "He was saying 'F this' and 'F that.'"
>
> When confronted about it by passengers, the pilot became "obscene" and
> began cursing at the customers, she said. "He made a big disturbance."
>
> The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and the local FAA flight standards
> office were notified, Gregor said. Police arrived on the scene, pulled
> the pilot aside and interviewed him.
>
> He was not administered a field sobriety test. Gregor said he did not
> know the reasons behind that decision and CNN was unable to
> immediately contact the police officers involved.
>
> The FAA officials called Northwest Airlines headquarters and were
> instructed by the chief pilot for the company to remove the pilot from
> the aircraft. The chief pilot also requested that the pilot be flown
> to Detroit for further questioning, Gregor said.
>
> Northwest Airlines then canceled the flight, apologized for the delay
> and offered hotel accommodations and penalty-free re-booking on the
> next available flight out of Las Vegas, a spokesman for the airline
> said.
>
> The airline said "a review of the matter" was being conducted and the
> decision to cancel the flight was made "due to reports of
> inappropriate language by a crew member."
>
> Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman, said the FAA's flight standards
> investigation unit was looking into the incident. According to Fergus,
> the FAA has the authority to send a "letter of admonition" to the
> pilot or, in the most extreme cases, revoke a pilot's FAA certificate,
> which would ground the pilot.
>
> "I had to call and cancel two family dinners and we're stuck here an
> extra night," a passenger said. "We've been at the airport for six
> hours waiting -- it's chaos. It's Easter weekend...we want to be
> home."
>
> * w w w .cnn . com /2007/US/04/07/swearing.pilot/index.html

Re: Obscene pilot forces Northwest to cancel flight

On Sat, 7 Apr 2007 14:43:38 -0400, "Dudley Henriques"
<dhenriques@rcn . com > wrote:

>The real issue here isn't the language used by the pilot per se'. The issue
>of importance is the pilot's emotional and mental state leading up to a take
>off which the language indicated. This is why the FAA got him off the flight
>and probably why, after the hearing, he will no longer be employed by
>Northwest.
>Frankly, its a good thing they discovered this. Whatever it was he was
>involved with on that phone, it wasn't consistent with normal flight safety
>procedures.
>Dudley Henriques

Agreed. I wouldn't want to have been on that flight if it
had taken off with him in command. However, it does
reinforce the need for airlines to have reserve pilots
available for situations like this.

Pilots can become unavailable for all sorts of reasons at
short notice; medical, sobriety, or just simple stuff-ups.
Major airlines at major terminals should be able to plan for
such cases. We had a situation last year at LAX where AA's
scheduled captain for a LAX-HNL flight didn't turn up at all
- because he was at his own retirement party and the
management hadn't realised that. We waited three hours while
they got an off-duty pilot out of bed and he drove 90 miles
to LAX to take us to Hawaii. The busiest airline in America
at the second-busiest airport didn't have a short-notice
pilot available qualified as an over-water captain.

Just how expensive would it be for the majors to have a
short-notice pilot on call at each major terminal for each
of the most common aircraft types? It should even be
possible to have a pool system across companies if organised
properly.

Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
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